Quitting a tournament to save your rating...

October 27th, 2012, 08:25 PM

I am curious to hear player's thoughts on tournament players who quit a tournament early or don't turn in their card after a bad round to protect their round ratings from affecting their PDGA player ratings. I see people do it all the time and it just seems weak! I think players should just man up and take their licks against their player rating if they have a bad round or multiple rounds. I am curious to hear both sides of it because I know there are many out there who do it and I'd like to hear their justification for it. I guess one reason would be to falsely inflate your rating so you appear to be better then you actually are but that doesn't show a true representation of your overall ability as a disc golfer.

I've never done it and won't so it because it doesn't seem ethical or fair to other players that I play against. That said I now some players aren't concerned about that stuff so that's just me. I've had many blow up rounds where I just wanted to explodebut I've never phoned it in intentionally or purposefully bad enough that I knew the round would not count towards my rating.

Disc Golfers who choose to quit a tournament or purposefully shoot badly enough so a round does not count towards their rating believe that a made up number is more important to them than the respect of their fellow players.

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Disc Golfers who choose to quit a tournament or purposefully shoot badly enough so a round does not count towards their rating believe that a made up number is more important to them than the respect of their fellow players.

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A good rating doesn't help you in any way. It can only work against you by forcing you to play in higher divisions. And if you have to artificially inflate your rating, then you aren't skilled enough for that higher division.

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This does seem like a contradiction. Since the ratings have a very limited benefit and as a TD I cannot force someone to play in the highest division that their rating would allow seems like a waste of time. What penalty could I possibly administer? The player has already abandoned their entry fee and by reporting them nationally what repercussions (if any) will be taken at future events.

I have said this before Ratings are just away to keep players interested during the long cold winter. Ever wonder why Ball golf has a season (March-Oct) for handicaps?

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Disc Golfers who choose to quit a tournament or purposefully shoot badly enough so a round does not count towards their rating believe that a made up number is more important to them than the respect of their fellow players.

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I will fully admit to dropping out of a tournament mid round. I did this 3 years ago at a C-tier at Trojan. I was in 2nd place after the first round, Dion I think it was had me by a stroke. During the second round I threw maybe...6 discs in the water. I was so frustrated at myself, and upset that yes I walked off the course. No it wasn't to save my rating it was because I had just dumped 3 CE discs in the drink. Just one situation and sure some may still frown upon it, but the point where it stopped being fun dropping money in the water.

Yes some people consistently drop out of tournaments mid rounds, or play well below their level just so a rating will not count. Yeah it sucks, but people are going to do what they want, regardless if people approve or not.

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Never have dropped out of a round and unless I break something or I get some other sort of medical emergency, I won't. Ratings mean nothing besides you get a fancy number to compare yourself to other disc golfers with. Bleh I say, I've beaten very high rated golfers and been spanked by some very low rated golfers. It's all relative to how you shoot that day and if you are happy with what you accomplished.

"Honest work is for the downtrodden and the Polish"
Cleveland Brown

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Yes some people consistently drop out of tournaments mid rounds, or play well below their level just so a rating will not count. Yeah it sucks, but people are going to do what they want, regardless if people approve or not.

I certainly wouldn't expect anyone to do anything based on my approval or disapproval. I was just curious to hear what people thought. I've talked about it a number of times with local players. I could see your point on walking away from losing more discs - I guess that's why I don't/won't throw any valuable discs if there is a possibility of losing it/them. I have put my beloved USDCC baby Roc away numerous times out of fear of losing it. That's a good perspective and point though.